We have a garden!

The average last freeze date for Bloomington is supposed to be April 15. So, does that mean it is safe to finally plant something? Only about half of the time.

We planted some tulips in front of the house last fall. They were supposed to be white, pink, maroon, and white with purple edges. Unfortunately, the maroon came up more fuschia or purple. And the white came up looking . . . yellow, with red streaks.

I guess they were mislabeled. The overall effect is a bit like Mardi Gras. I was hoping to have pink and maroon flowers in the front of the house, to harmonize with the gray and white house and go with the maroon front door. Purple and yellow weren't exactly what I was picturing. At least the yellow tulips are big and beautiful. And the yellow seems to fade a bit as they open fully. Or am I fooling myself?

I was so eager for spring I couldn't wait for warm weather, so I started some seeds indoors.


We planted them yesterday.


We hope to have cornflowers, blue and white morning glories, moon flowers, and lady lavender (a lot like true lavender, but blooms the first year and is slightly less invasive) by the trellis. So far, we have . . . bean sprouts.


We have tulips in the backyard, too. They were supposed to be purple. I suspect they are the exact same variety as the ones out front that were supposed to be maroon.


Oh, well. At least they came up. I think the hydrangeas next to them are alive. But I have serious doubts about the lilac bush. Other people have actual lilac blooms in their yards right now. I have some tiny buds on the end of dry sticks.


I think I have garden jealousy. "Thou shalt not covet they neighbors shrubs." The book "The Princess Bride" says that originally, all jealousy was reserved to plants. That's where the phrase "green with envy" came from. Tee-hee.


Maybe I can just stick these pansies in front of the slow-growing lilac bush. It IS a rather small bush.


Our snowball bush has little blossoms on it. They're just more green than white. Is there such a thing as acid snow? Maybe that's why its green. I have fond memories of a snowball bush in the house where I grew up. A branch with a "snowball" on the end makes an excellent fairy wand.


Out front, the little faux gas lamp will be surrounded by echinacea, red morning glories, cosmos, and zinnias. I hope the cosmos attract as many caterpillars and butterflies as last year. Dharma loves to chase the butterflies. But they cheat: they can fly and she can't.

Dharma has been enjoying the warm weather, too.

Guests

We managed to put the guest room at Johnson's Meeting House to use again over Easter weekend. Derek's mom and stepdad came to see us.

Left to right: Terry, Gerry, and Derek

They had planned to come last October, but Terry (the stepdad) fell and broke his foot, which made driving 11 hours to see us sound a LOT less appealing. They brought their puppy, a Maltese named Abby.


Abby and Dharma met last Christmas when we stayed with them (and, crazy people that we are, took Dharma with us.) I would say they learned to tolerate each other, that's about all. This visit they did play a little bit, but we made sure to keep them in different rooms when we were gone.

Dharma says "Who is this, and WHAT is she doing on my pillows?"

Dharma kept stealing Abby's toys. And even a whole bag of her things!

Bad doggie!

Nonetheless, both doggies were visited by the Easter Bunny. They shared the treats fairly well. Abby had an easter-egg print bandana and Dharma had a little spring frock from Emilie's mom, and they both looked adorable. Clearly, dog spoiling runs in BOTH families.


The non-puppies among us had Easter brunch at the Tudor Room, a restaurant in the IU Memorial Union. It is, as the name suggests, a gothic revival style hall. The food was nice, our server was sweet, and we all had more than enough good things to eat. On the other hand, they need to hire me next year to organize them. Reservations were lost, lines were formed and then ignored, some people gave up and left without dinner, kids cried, and everyone waited much longer than necessary. Step one to fixing this mess? Get someone with good English skills to work at the reception stand. Really. The person working there was not able to answer questions like "Is this the right line for people with reservations?" On a more cheerful note, we also walked around and admired the flowers and trees on campus. They were lovely, and set off our Easter bonnet and flowery dresses very well.


Emilie had to keep teaching all week, but Derek was able to take the week off. He took our guests to Indianapolis, the outlet mall in Edinburgh, and lovely downtown Bloomington. Emilie joined them to go to Nashville. Much eating and shopping was enjoyed by all. Well, Derek probably enjoyed the eating somewhat more than the shopping.

Next post: spring gardening update!